Sasameki Koto – 11

It’s just a hunch on my part, but Sumika x Ushio feels really close now. With Azusa aware of how they really feel about one another and taking a step back from Sumika, it’s only a matter of time before Ushio realizes as well. Azusa handles herself quite gracefully after Tomoe offers a few words of wisdom, but oddly enough, a trip to the pool is what got us there.

After the disastrous trip to the beach last time, the gang heads off to the pool with tickets provided by Azusa’s mother. There, Kiyori decides to separate the group into two based on their bustsizes and ends up doing both Sumika and Ushio a huge favour by dragging Azusa off. No longer stressed with keeping Norio’s identity a secret, the two of them finally get to spend some time together. Some time later, a trio of guys come by and try to hit on Ushio and Tomoe, but Sumika manages to chase them off by showcasing her strength.

When Tomoe unexpectedly amazes everyone with her diving skills, Sumika tries to outstage her in both diving and speed swimming to impress Ushio, but fails miserably. Meanwhile, Kiyori’s been taking Miyako and Azusa to all the various rides, even though they’re scared half to death by most of them. The group eventually meets up again, during which Azusa spots Sumika teaching Ushio how to swim and quickly realizes that they both like one another.

Miyako’s “Oh Jesus” comment prior to pummeling down a free-falling ride was undoubtedly the highlight of the comedy here, supplemented by all of Sumika’s middle-aged man inner thoughts about Ushio. As amusing as that was, the tail end of the episode is what had me really captivated. The blank look on Azusa’s face after she saw Sumika happily teaching Ushio how to swim spoke volumes. It’s almost as if she was feeling jealousy for the very first time, making her realize that she too has feelings for Sumika. However, she quickly came to her senses and accepted the harsh reality that Sumika’s in love with Ushio by recalling a line out of Norio’s novel.

It’s the same line Azusa was talking to Sumika about back in episode eight, which ends “and there, the couple’s eyes meet.” If you happen to be watching Crunchyroll’s translation, it was a bit dodgy so the meaning was somewhat lost. The line was meant to describe how Azusa saw Sumika and Ushio happily lost in their own little world, and is what ultimately tipped her off on how they feel about each other. As such, I really like her poetic understanding of the situation, as well as Tomoe’s depiction of what love is like on the train ride home. Azusa’s way of dealing with this appears to be writing her next doujinshi, “Sunflower in the Snow”, which I’d imagine is about the situation she’s in. I guess this is the gracefullness of yuri romance stories that you won’t find elsewhere.

From what I’ve been told, the anime has been really faithful to the manga thus far, so it’ll be interesting to see how they decide to wrap things up. One would hope that Sumika and Ushio will get their mutual feelings across, but we still have two episodes to go before we find out. The preview doesn’t really give us any hints with Bach and Beethoven arguing though. I can’t really pick out who did their goofy voices, but I’m guessing it was Takagaki Ayahi (Sumika) and Harada Hitomi (Tomoe).

its almost identical to the manga :P
the only thing that i noticed was different was between one of the last sentences.
~…realize how she herselfs feel~
Anime:Azusa”that make quite the story”
Manga:Azusa”is pretty darn scrumptious”

~and your unexpectedly hard~

it was a real nice episode but i’m starting to worry if the last 2 episode will be following the manga also or if the will be anime original.

If it will be the same as the manga.
Be prepared for a open ending with the same size of the grand canyon :P

OK, I needed a good laugh (being bored to death & all). That “oh Jesus” had me dying. But atleast I have my fat lappy which is slowly connected to my PC at home. Can this PC anywhere garbage be any slower :(

It HAS been faithful so far, but for it to continue to be, there will be no closure. Right now the manga is at Volume 4 and still coming, and Sumi and Ushio have not hooked up. Ushio realizes she has feelings for her, but she’s afraid to act on them, and now SUMI seems to be the one in denial of the other’s feelings. It’s all been very angsty.

On one hand, I’d hate for the anime to try to get them together quickly and sloppily without working out their issues, which is what would happen if the writers tried to get them together in only two episodes (because they DO have issues other than not realizing how they feel about each-other. It was the same in Aoi Hana; the main characters will hook up, surely – it’s obvious from the start that they will- but not before they’ve sorted out a million things – and they’re taking their sweet time doing so. The anime was about as long as Sasameki Koto is to be, and it felt complete and satisfying without the girls ending up together). On the other, I…can’t imagine how it’ll end otherwise, because I can’t think of anything in the manga that would provide a good sense of closure. I really don’t know how I want the anime to end, and I have no idea how it will end, either.

Tomoe really shined this time around, I didn’t like this character at the beginning because her agresive demeanor ( ie I’m yuri and I’m taking the word down by strom) The way she behaved with Sumika and Ushio was very mature and her words in the train showed lots of character dept. I too think is too early for the girls to end together. The spliting by breast size was super :)

The one I real feel bad for is Azusa. That scene where she realized that the other 2 had feelings for each other was just as well acted and drawn as if it was a scene in a Hollywood movie and not an anime.